Taking a Leak:
Okay, here's the thing: A leak of classified information is generally done when it is in the public interest for the citizens to know information they might not ever get. It's done when, perhaps, a country is going to war against the grave concerns of that country's intelligence community. So when you hear journalists and pundits declaring that a leak must be protected, it's usually because the leaker has done something that might cause career or other harm to the leaker. Or, in other cases, a "leak" occurs when those in power want to sneak out good information as if they're, what?, modest? Who knows. But those are controlled and sanctioned "leaks."

But the question on the leaking of CIA Operative Valerie Plame's name has to be this: what good does it serve for that name to be out there? None. At all. Except to in some vague way discredit her husband, former Amb. Joseph Wilson. Robert Novak was played for a complicitious dupe - he was the administration's prison bitch, bending over to accomodate those in power. "C'mon, Bob," Karl Rove or someone else said, smacking him on the ass, "I've got something big for you. Bite the pillow and take it." And, rubbing Anusol on his sore sphincter, Bob dutifully reported Plame's name like a giddy schoolboy and headed back to the bunk, broke out the Vaseline, and prepared for his next reaming.

In other words, there's no reason beyond vengeance to leak Plame's name. Someone's gonna be killed over this and Bob "Please Anally Violate Me" Novak will be an accomplice to the murder. Check out the bitch on the run.